Tank mentality.

[eikomakimachi]

I had met all types of tank so far, from the really nice ones that taught me how to play my job and how to pass through a dungeon and didn't yell at me for failing at first try form tanks that say I just suck at the end but never told me what the hell I was doing wrong or just plain abandoned duty without any notice. But I also met DPS that thought they could just tank stuff because healer will heal them non-stop and healers that were as douchebags as any of the other classes, so I guess it's not about tank mentality only, it is about how different people deal with each situation.

[Plainview]

I'll repeat my original question. What is the expected mentality of the tank? This thread is flooded with positive and negative anecdotes about tanks, but no one really gave a clear indication as to what they truly expect. I use DF pretty exclusively pre end-game since I find it to be a useful training tool. If I were with my FC, I wouldn't ask this question to begin with. So again, what is the cookie-cutter expectation from healers and DPS. Help us understand so we don't get anymore QQ threads on our forum.

[karateorangutang]

Just my 2 cents,

Tanking jobs in general seem to draw an older MMO crowd for some reason.... myself included. I consider myself to be very patient and I've never outright quit a group, but i will say that i have tongue lashed a few people who simply refused to listen. Us old guys are less willing to care what people thing and will have no problem throwing what we think out there. On the flipside this is a TEAM based atmosphere and there need to be concessions for the other players that are present.

I will help, train, or answer any questions that are given to me in the spirit of learning.

[IRToaster]

Here is how I see it:
There are a lot of players who are intolerant to mistakes. Unfortunately, everyone who plays is human, and mistakes are bound to happen. When the DPS isn't hitting as hard, it's difficult to notice. But when the Tank loses aggro or the Healer misses a heal, it's very apparent. With pressure to improve performance on the tank or healer role, it makes sense for anyone to get agitated and respond negatively. On the flip side, Tanks and Healers might get mad at DPS because they feel they've done something wrong. Most of the time it's a matter of inconvenience -- attacked a wrong mob or accidentally pulled a group and suddenly you're getting ignored.

But I disagree with the idea that the mentality stems from being a Tank. I think given the chance to choose different roles, they would have the same kind of personality.

[Zikh]

2) Everything starts with tank - the fight and pivotal mechanics (interrupts), the blame, the congratulations

You must be playing a very different game than I am. Tanking is a thankless job above all, no matter how good you are.

[Kayin08]

All your points are dead on but 3 is my biggest issue with endgame. While running Castrum we had SCH who was new nobody took the time to explain anything to him. He died on the second boss and nobody raised him they kept going it was a WTF moment for me lol. I was the off tank so I stuck with him while the party ran ahead and ended up wiping at livia cuz they all rushed in. Too many people forget where they came from and that they were new to these dungeons.

[Powderkeg]

As a tank I find only to have healers who have no idea how to play their job 40+ complain, while they cure bomb curaga non-stop, or DDs that don't know how to /assist and rather the party take longer to number trash mobs, what happened to sufficiency?

[AurickSchiffer]

I remember when I first did uuhh I forgot which dungeon it was with the Temple Guardian Golem. (One with Soulstone and Golem so 2 targets) It was my first time and I specifically asked the Healer where do I target to draw Hate, He told me the Golem itself (big mistake) as the fight began I had full hate on the Golem and yet it was attacking the healer the whole time. "Tank what the ???? are you doing?" As I was using Flash, Provoke, Savage Blade, and Shield Throw. We lost that round then another player said try the soul stone. Worked perfectly and everyone was saying it wasn't my fault. The golem paid alot more attention to me after targeting the S. Stone and then we won and the Healer just wrote "Good job, Get better Tank you suck" and rage quit..... -___-

[Zikh]

I'll repeat my original question. What is the expected mentality of the tank? This thread is flooded with positive and negative anecdotes about tanks, but no one really gave a clear indication as to what they truly expect. I use DF pretty exclusively pre end-game since I find it to be a useful training tool. If I were with my FC, I wouldn't ask this question to begin with. So again, what is the cookie-cutter expectation from healers and DPS. Help us understand so we don't get anymore QQ threads on our forum.

Tank is the leader of the party, the perfect player. You know all the mechanics and skills of every enemy and boss fight. You know what to stun and what to silence. You know what hits hard so you can migitate the damage by using your cooldowns. You also know the skills and abilites of every other class in the game so you can predict what your team is going to do or can do in different situations. You mark the targets and you keep aggro from everything without any excuses. Your reflexes need to be good enough to avoid everything harmful if it's avoidable. You explain the boss strategies to new people and pull fast so the run goes smoothly and quick. Tank also has to see to be on his/her toes to see what other people do so if some dps pulls extra packs you're ready to grab them. There are also other things.

That's a tank player. Then people wonder why we have god complex and irritating personalities. Hah!

[Delorean]

I'll repeat my original question. What is the expected mentality of the tank?

your jobs to hold aggro and not die

and not cleave the piss out of the melee

do that and you're golden, anyone who says otherwise is wrong for as much as i care

You must be playing a very different game than I am. Tanking is a thankless job above all, no matter how good you are.

almost every in progress queue i take, i am praised for how much better i was than the previous tank. not that i really care, but it is kind of nice to hear sometimes